The 92nd Academy Awards have come and gone, and one of the most venerable traditions of the evening is the host. In selecting the Oscars emcee, the Academy has an annual opportunity to hand-pick someone who represents Hollywood, pokes fun at its idiosyncrasies, and even speaks truth to power. With that in mind, here are six women who the Academy decided would not do as good a job as no host at all.
Tiffany Haddish
Tiffany Haddish is one of the hardest-working people in the entertainment industry, starring in several films a year in between stand-up gigs and TV appearances. So it’s no surprise that the Academy decided to give her — and all other potential female Oscar hosts — a night off to sit back, relax, and watch a bunch of actors stumble through whatever copy they got served by the teleprompter. They did her a favor!
Awkwafina
Between her performances in Crazy Rich Asians and The Farewell, Awkwafina is a rising star in Hollywood. But she infamously did not receive a nomination for Best Actress this year — a snub that critics say reflects the Academy’s systematic failure to recognize the achievements of women of color. Ever the savvy institution, the Academy chose not to draw attention to that controversy by not asking Awkwafina, or any woman of color, to host the Oscars.
Sandra Oh
After star turns in Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve, Sandra Oh proved her emcee bona fides when she co-hosted the Golden Globes in 2019. So, no need for her to prove it again, I guess! She did look great while presenting next to a rambling, heavily-bleeped Ray Romano, though.
Tina Fey & Amy Poehler
Having already been selected to host the Golden Globes four times, in addition to years of experience behind the Weekend Update desk, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are more than ready for primetime. But if you really care about achieving gender parity, what would be better? Two women and zero men hosting, or zero women and zero men hosting? The Academy has decided that if you really think about it, it’s more feminist to have no host at all – and instead have two men deliver an opening monologue while insisting that they’re not hosting.
Michelle Wolf
In addition to her work on The Break with Michelle Wolf and The Daily Show, Michelle Wolf is famous for her scorched-earth monologue at the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner, where she went to the halls of power and brutally roasted the corrupt elites who are never held accountable in a public space. Since then, the White House Correspondents Dinner hasn’t invited a comedian to host again and weirdly, neither has the Oscars!
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the show!
